By: Jessica Nicholas
For Brenda Cortez-Gomez, going to college was far from her mind during her senior year. An honor student at Montgomery High School in San Ysidro, she had taken Advanced Placement (AP) and honors classes because she loved learning, but had never thought about taking her education any further than a high school diploma. Most of her family had only finished middle school and her mom did not know anything about the college application process.
Today, Brenda Cortez-Gomez is pursuing her Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), one of the top pharmacy schools in the nation. Her journey from being a Montgomery High School student to a University of California, San Diego (UCSD) undergraduate to a top pharmacy school doctoral student took much passion and dedication.
The only child of divorced parents, Brenda was born in San Diego, but grew up in Tijuana, Mexico after her parents moved there shortly after she was born. At age 10, she came back to the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego with her mom, a childcare worker. She always excelled academically, but initially planned to find a job right after finishing high school, just like the other members of her family.
However, her plans to go straight to work after graduation were disrupted by a high school counselor who, seeing that she excelled in her classes, encouraged her to apply for college and took her to a college fair. That turned out to be the push needed to get her to apply. She put in her application to all of the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) schools, before she chose to attend UCSD because of its quality of education and location.
Though Brenda took AP and honors classes at her high school, the transition to UCSD still proved difficult. Montgomery High School did not prepare her well for the learning environment at a large, fast-paced university.
After a rough first quarter, she found the Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS). OASIS is an on-campus learning center that provides academic support and help with the high school to college transition. Additionally, during the academic year, the office provides tutorial services in math, science, writing and foreign language, as well as time management and peer counseling services.
OASIS turned out to be an enormous help for Brenda. She took advantage of the math and science tutoring programs to help her get through her lower division courses, and attended study skills seminars to help her better manage her time. Even after her academic performance began to improve, she stayed at OASIS as a facilitator for the General and Organic Chemistry group study courses.
Brenda excelled outside of the classroom, as well. Her passion for science was, and is, inspiring. Not only did she choose to major in Biochemistry and Chemistry, but she was also involved in the undergraduate chemistry club, UCSD Free Clinic project, Healing Hearts Across Borders, and the HOPE project, just to name a few.
Brenda first got involved in research through the Continuing Umbrella of Research Experience (CURE) summer program, which gives paid laboratory research experience to ethnic minorities and first generation college students. Through a contact there, she became a research assistant for a faculty member in the School of Medicine, and was even published in The American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
After such enriching and diverse experiences in the medical field, Brenda was unsure which career would best fit her. Wanting to work in the health care field, and knowing her greatest strength was Organic Chemistry, she decided to pursue a Doctorate in Pharmacy.
When choosing a Pharmacy school, she decided to apply only to two of the top programs, UCSF’s School of Pharmary and UCSD’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy because, as she explains, “I wanted the best education possible.” Even though well-qualified applicants tend to apply to multiple schools because of the high level of competition, Brenda knew where she wanted to go and was ultimately admitted to both schools.
The transition to pharmacy school was much easier than she had expected. She credits the study skills she gained at UCSD and through OASIS for the easy transition. She learned how to manage her study time well, so well that she even worked 20 hours per week at a local pharmacy while completing her studies.
Now able to channel her dedication and love of science into a career, she plans to continue supporting her mom and contribute to families in need as a clinical pediatric pharmacist. She wants to work in pediatric clinic pharmacy because doing that, as she states, “not only do I have an impact on the child but also on the parents.”
Jessica Nicholas is an intern with the UC San Diego Comprehensive Research Center in Health Disparities (CRCHD) and is double majoring in Biology and International Studies at UCSD. The CRCHD is a partnership of organizations focusing on community minority health and health disparities research.